English 11 & 12

1. Mr.Jordan | English 11 & 12
Types of
Characters in
Literature

2. Character Types
In fictional literature, authors use many different types of
characters to tell their stories. Different types of
characters fulfill different roles in the narrative process,
and with a little bit of analysis, you can usually detect
some or all of the types below.
Major or central characters are vital to the development
and resolution of the conflict. In other words, the plot and
resolution of conflict revolves around these characters.
Minor characters serve to complement the major
characters and help move the plot events forward.

3. Friday Night Lights
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4. Dynamic Characters
Dynamic - A dynamic character is a person
who changes over time, usually as a result
of resolving a central conflict or facing a
major crisis. Most dynamic characters tend
to be central rather than peripheral
characters, because resolving the conflict
is the major role of central characters.

5. Static Characters
Static - A static character is someone who does not
change over time; his or her personality does not
transform or evolve.

6. Round Character
Round - A rounded character is anyone who has a
complex personality; he or she is often portrayed as a
conflicted and contradictory person.

7. Flat Character
Flat - A flat character is the opposite of a round character.
This literary personality is notable for one kind of
personality trait or characteristic.

8. Stock Character
Stock - Stock characters are those types of characters
who have become conventional or stereotypical through
repeated use in particular types of stories. Stock
characters are instantly recognizable to readers or
audience members (e.g. the femme fatale, the cynical but
moral private eye, the mad scientist, the geeky boy with
glasses, and the faithful sidekick). Stock characters are
normally one-dimensional flat characters, but sometimes
stock personalities are deeply conflicted, rounded
characters (e.g. the "Hamlet" type).

9. A Few Good Men
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10. Protagonist
The protagonist is the central person in a story, and is
often referred to as the story's main character. He or she
(or they) is faced with a conflict that must be resolved.
The protagonist may not always be admirable (e.g. an
anti-hero); nevertheless s/he must command involvement
on the part of the reader, or better yet, empathy.

11. Pursuit of Happyness
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12. Antagonist
The antagonist is the character(s) (or situation) that
represents the opposition against which the protagonist
must contend. In other words, the antagonist is an
obstacle that the protagonist must overcome.

13. Anti Hero
A major character, usually the protagonist, who lacks
conventional nobility of mind, and who struggles for
values not deemed universally admirable. Duddy, in
Mordecai Richler's The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz,
is a classic anti-hero. He's vulgar, manipulative and self-
centered. Nevertheless, Duddy is the center of the story,
and we are drawn to the challenges he must overcome
and the goals he seeks to achieve.

14. Foil
A foil is any character (usually the antagonist or an
important supporting character) whose personal qualities
contrast with another character (usually the protagonist).
By providing this contrast, we get to know more about the
other character.